Dexter Williams scored 16 points and Keven Amaral had 15, including 10 in a pivotal second quarter, as No. 9 Moanalua caged McKinley 63-45 Monday in the opening round of Na Menehune Holiday Classic at Moanalua High School.
Moanalua rolled to a 14-1 lead, but McKinley chipped away and pulled within 15-11 on a 3-pointer by Jason Ramano early in the second quarter.
Moanalua smothered the Tigers with halfcourt traps and went on a 27-10 run. Five consecutive points by Williams gave Moanalua a 42-21 lead late in the second quarter. The Tigers never got the lead to single digits the rest of the way.
Na Menehune played without three regular players — Wesley Armbrust (ankle), Carl Ko (illness) and Brandon Guerreo (mainland trip).
“We adapted fairly well,” Moanalua coach Greg Tacon said. “In the first half, we did some good things with our defense. Our good stretches are getting longer. McKinley is a good team. They had Farrington on the ropes and they beat Kaiser.”
Aaron Davis added 10 points for Moanalua while Dillon Turk had eight points and eight rebounds. Moanalua racked up 22 turnovers in all.
Alex Ironside had 10 points for McKinley, which shot 33 percent from the field (18-for-54) against Moanalua’s switching, man-to-man defense.
“It was embarrassing,” Tigers coach Bob Morikuni said. “We just didn’t show up. I gave them Christmas and yesterday off, so I take the blame for that.”
McKinley shot 4-for-19 from 3-point range.
Paul Honda, Star-Advertiser
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